Young Writers Project: Waiting for the Stars to Come Out

11/05/12 6:00AM

Sophie writes: "Poetry changed the way I look at the world. When I write, the words just pour out from inside of me and when I step back and look at what I have written, I can finally understand what I’m feeling. This piece of writing was written for one person, but is about far more. It’s about distance time and love, and all the patience and confusion and waiting and waiting and waiting that loving someone who is far away, means."

Waiting for the Stars to Come Out
by Sophie Heyerdahl, Grade 10
Champlain Valley Union High School

We are not what one would call
“traditional”

We are not wise in the
eyes of the world

We are not “boy meets girl”
happily ever after.

We are “official” but I can’t stop wondering
what we are.

We are numbers.
12, 10, 3, 802, 570.

12 hours to forget,
and only remember your arms

10 months of waiting and
wondering

3 years of living,
of disapproval between us.

802, 570
No hope of seeing you

We are letters.
I, M, I, S, S, Y, O, U,

Written over and over
and still not enough.

Waiting for the mail to arrive
and hoping against all hope.

We are a question mark
waiting to be answered.

We are a string of hearts
Written across time

We are a tragic
love story

“City college boy falls for
county high school girl.

One night, too many kisses
to count.

A year of letters
and wondering why.

An unknown
summer to come”

We are a ...
a “too be continued”

We are patience
and commitment.

We are lying on our backs
waiting and waiting
for the stars to come out.